‘Welcome to battleground B.C.’: Hundreds rally against LNG pipeline

Hundreds of people took to the streets of downtown Vancouver and packed Victory Square on Tuesday to show their opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C.

The protest was held in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people who have set up two anti-pipeline camps southwest of Smithers to block the project. Fourteen people were arrested there on Monday for allegedly violating a court order to stay away from the work sites.

The pipeline will carry natural gas 670 kilometres from the Peace region to a recently-approved $40-billion LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat.

The initial focus of the demonstration was the arrests and the LNG pipeline, the rally in Vancouver unleashed a deep-seated anger among participants against what one speaker called “500 years of colonial oppression.”

“We have history to show us that it’s still cowboys and Indians. Trudeau is just another white man who thought he could get rid of us. Canada won’t listen until it starts costing them.”Hundreds cheer on a rally in solidarity with #WetsuwetenStrong in Vancouver.@BlackPressMediapic.twitter.com/4z02AJYAIY